Promoting science: Space tech institute’s summer camp concludes

SSS holds Dr Abdus Salam Space Contest to honour Pakistani scientist

ISLAMABAD: The Space Summer School (SSS) organised by the Institute of Space Technology (IST) concluded on Monday.

On its concluding day, the SSS held Dr Abdus Salam Space Contest named after, a Pakistani scientist who shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics with Sheldon Glashow and Steven Weinberg for his contribution to the electroweak unification theory.

Dr Salam had left the country in 1974 when the then Parliament declared his sect as a non-Muslim minority. However, giving due respect to Dr Salam’s contribution to science and Physics for the country and the whole world, IST on the concluding day of its summer camp dedicated an event to his name.

The event saw participation of over 100 students of 60 schools and colleges of the country.

The two-week activity-based learning covered more than 50 interactive sessions in 10 exploration tracks for students in two levels as abecedarian and virtuoso.

It had a canvas of space themed activities, interactive lectures, hands on workshops, space career counselling, Dr Abdus Salam Space Contest, space creative writing, space creative arts, space spellathon, webinars and seminars, said a news release issued on Monday.

SSS Programme Head and IST Director Student Affairs Dr Najam Abbas greeted the participants at the concluding session and appraised the accomplishments of SSS under the initiative of Space Technology Education and Popularisation (STEP).

Dr Khurram Iqbal commended the initiative of Institute of Space Technology for creating cognisance about space technology among the youth and educating students about the benefits of space technology. Dr Iqbal appreciated the efforts of IST for Space Technology education and popularisation.

Space Summer School covered ten themes namely the earth, atmosphere, aviation, rocketry, satellite technology, space travel, space for life, space agencies, astronomy and astrophysics and space agencies. It hosted two special webinars with Dr Aquib Moin from UAE Space Agency about UAE Mars Mission and Dr Nozair Khawaja from Germany on Astrobiology.

Awards were given to the winners of space spellathon, space creative writing, space arts, water rocket, aero modelling and drag parachute ompetitions. SSS participants were also provided an opportunity to explore planetarium, aircraft technology, cansat satellite development, water rocket and quad-copter design and fabrication along with astrolabe and telescope.  

Published in The Express Tribune, July 31^st, 2018.